THE Westports Malaysia Dragons have sharpened their claws in anticipation of the upcoming Asean Basketball League (ABL) by bringing back experienced campaigners and signing their imports early.
Since winning the championship in the 2015-16 season, the Dragons have gone through a dramatic slump as they went from champion material to a team that missed the playoffs for three straight seasons.
Former coach Chris Thomas’ tenure from 2016-18 was an ill-fated affair as the team struggled to string results together.
Under Australian Jamie Pearlman, a younger-looking Dragons went through a rebuilding phase during the 2018-19 season but still narrowly missed out on the playoffs.
The Dragons are, however, taking things more seriously and have got down to work in the off-season, bringing back experienced local cagers Kuek Tian Yuan and Loh Shee Fai into the mix.
Additionally, they have also done the business of signing their imports early, bringing in American point guard Amir Bell, centre Will Artino and Bulgarian forward Simeon Lepichev.
The 2.06m Lepichev is certainly a major coup as he qualifies to play in the ABL as a local as he was born in Malaysia.
It is, however, the signing of the 2.11m Artino that has gotten fans excited. The 27-year-old played for Taiwanese side Formosa Dreamers last season and is an incredibly underrated centre, having amassed 20.7 points per game, 10.7 rebounds per game and 3.1 assists per game.
“I am very pleased to have Will join us for the season. He is a very mobile big who will allow us to push the ball and explore opportunities in transition,” said Pearlman.
“He is also crafty in the post, so that will give us a strong presence down low and I believe he will be one of the premier bigs this season.”
Pearlman also added that with Lepichev qualified to play as a local, the Dragons are allowed to sign one more import and they are looking to add someone who can carry the scoring load for the team.
The ABL season will start next month with ten teams, one more than last season, despite defending champions CLS Indonesia pulling out from the competition.
Singapore Slingers, Saigon Heat, Thailand’s Mono Vampire Basketball Club, Hong Kong Eastern, the Alab Pilipinas, China’s Wolf Warriors, Macau Black Bears and Taiwanese teams Dreamers and Fubon Braves are the other teams in the league.
The Dragons will have a chance to get some pre-season tune-up when they compete in the Maba International Basketball Invitation at the Maba Stadium on Oct 22-27.